


Dating? Nah, Let's Get Engaged!

by Kiki_Keeks



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Christian Character, Excessive Drinking, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-21 19:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7399855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiki_Keeks/pseuds/Kiki_Keeks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie and Crane are both teachers at a conservative Christian school. They are caught in a compromising position and about to be fired until Crane gets the idea to fake an engagement to save their jobs. Can two strangers fake an engagement to save their professional lives, or will it all come crashing down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I feel the need to warn you that I am not attempting to put down Christianity with this story. The idea is that Reynolds goes so far with his idea of moral purity that it gets kind of out of control and Crane feels he has to fake an engagement to save Abbie's job. If that idea is something you might be offended by, you might not enjoy this story. If it isn't, I hope you enjoy!  
> \---  
> I may just have to up the rating as this story moves along, but I'm not sure yet. I also am not sure how long this will be. Abbie & Crane write themselves, and I'm not sure where they'll lead me :)

Abbie Mills was walking down the hallway with her sister, Jenny. “Oooh, here come the Mills sisters!” a student yelled, then dissolved into a fit of laughter with his friends.

“Cooper James. It’s Miss Mills to you, and you’d better not be caught by your teacher saying that. I’m sure you’d earn a trip to the principal’s office.” Abbie responded quickly.

“Sorry, Miss Mills,” muttered Cooper on his way to his next class. Jenny grinned at Abbie and shrugged. “I guess us going to last Halloween’s prom dressed as witches probably wasn’t the best idea after all. That nickname will stick around for awhile. These kids have seen Hocus Pocus one too many times.”

“Truthfully, I don’t mind it. I’d just hate to see Cooper in trouble with Principal Reynolds. He doesn’t take jokes very well.” Abbie responded.

“Well, you’d know. You dated the guy for a year,” Jenny reminded Abbie playfully.

“That’s ancient history. We were in college then. It was almost 10 years ago.” Abbie retorted, shaking her head. “Who knew that one day we’d end up at the same school?”

Abbie had met Daniel Reynolds in a methods in teaching class in college. Abbie was a sophomore, while Reynolds was a senior. They’d hit it off after pairing up for a project, and began studying together after that. Pretty soon a semi-serious relationship had developed. Abbie called it off about a year later, after it became difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship once Reynolds had graduated. They had remained on good terms, but had rarely spoken to one another, until Abbie showed up to Witness High School for an interview for an open position as a civics teacher. To her surprise, her interview was with her former beau Reynolds, who had accepted a position as the principal just before her interview.

“Either way, I doubt he’d give you any special privileges if he thought you were getting too close to your students.” Jenny rolled her eyes. “I have to go. Meeting at 4:00. See you later!” Jenny waved as she walked away. Jenny worked as a counselor at WHS. She liked to joke that she could handle the difficult parts of her job because she once was committed to a mental institution, so she knew how to relate to the crazy students. She was careful to only joke about it around Abbie, though, because only Abbie knew the full truth. 

Jenny had been admitted to Tarrytown Psychiatric to be treated for an addiction to painkillers after a near-fatal car accident because there had been no room at the only local addiction center. The staff at Tarrytown Psych made sure to watch over Jenny and Abbie after their mother had tragically taken her own life after years of treatment at Tarrytown Psych. The staff felt the girls were their responsibility since they couldn’t save their mother, and their father had abandoned them when their mother had been committed. Jenny took a few months to recover from her addiction and had been clean ever since. The staff at Tarrytown Psych made sure to carefully erase any record that Jenny had ever been placed in their care, fearful of the damage it could do to Jenny’s future prospects, given that people had a serious lack of understanding and compassion for victims of mental health issues.

Abbie glanced down at her watch. It was ten to 4:00. A little early to leave for the day, but Tuesdays were her early days. She didn’t have any classes after 3:30, and no after school activities to chaperone. Normally she stayed in her office grading papers, but since school had just come back into session after spring break, there were no papers or big assignments to grade yet.

After a minute’s contemplation, Abbie decided to head for home. She only lived a mile and a half from the school, so she usually walked on nice days. Today was an unusually warm day for mid-March at almost 70 degrees, so Abbie walked a little slower than normal, enjoying the feeling of sunshine on her face and the birds chirping in the trees. A nice warm breeze caressed her face and made Abbie forget her surroundings for just a second. That was, until she crashed right into someone, lost her footing a fell over a row of bushes onto the grass.

“Miss Mills! I beg your pardon, I did not see you coming. Please, allow me to help you to your feet,” a deep voice said immediately. Abbie looked up to see a handsome face looking back at her. Bright blue eyes, the color of the sky on a cloudless day, peered out from behind the light brown shoulder-length hair that framed the face of a very tall, awkward man standing before her.

The gentleman blushed profusely as he offered his hand to her. “Please accept my apologies. I should have been paying infinitely more attention to my surroundings.”

Abbie grabbed the outstretched hand that waited for her, but to her embarrassment, she fell back on to the ground again. This time, the man fell with her, as he misjudged the proper footing needed to help Abbie while at the same time reaching over a row of bushes.

As Abbie struggled to breathe with the addition of the extra weight crashing down onto her lungs, the man scrambled to his feet, bringing Abbie safely with him this time. She glared as she caught her breath, which caused the man to go yet another shade of red.

“Who are you?” Abbie bit out after a time, straightening her clothes. She looked down to find her new skirt ripped and cardigan grass stained after the ordeal, groaning as she realized the skirt was likely a lost cause at this point. Because the weather was so warm, she removed her stained cardigan, revealing a yellow sleeveless blouse.

“Ichabod Crane. I teach yoga. I have only recently begun my post here after the break celebrating the arrival of spring.” Crane paused, looking down in embarrassment. “I am still gathering my bearings, as it were, and was rather more engaged in observing my surrounding than…observing right in front of me. Please forgive my callous disregard for the safety of my fellow sidewalk travelers.”

Abbie stared in amazement. “Seriously? One, who talks like that? You’re like a transplant from the colonial era. And two, you teach yoga? Well, no, scratch that. I guess I can believe that. You look like a beanpole, but you didn’t budge when I ran into you. Three, where the hell are you from? Is that a British accent?”

“To answer your unresolved questions, I speak in this manner because I was raised to be formal and precise in language. I have not yet learned to be more colloquial in my dialect despite the obvious cultural preference for such vernacular. Also, yes, you surmised correctly that I am British. I have only recently declared Sleepy Hollow to be my permanent residence.”

“Uh huh.” Abbie shook her head, unsure of how to respond.

“May I accompany you to your destination? It seems prudent for someone to remain with you to ensure you do not have a resulting physical ailment, such as a concussion, after a hard fall.” Crane questioned carefully.

“I’m fine, Crane. Thanks anyway.” Abbie started home, but tripped and nearly fell again. Apparently her high heel had broken in the fall, as well, she realized as she was going down. She braced herself for impact, but surprised when she was stopped with a set of long arms wrapped around her torso.

“It seems you are not fine, Miss Mills. Please allow me to walk with you.” Crane said as he straightened Abbie back to a standing position. He took her arm in his and began walking the direction Abbie was originally heading and he said, “Where I am from, a man would never knock a defenseless woman over and leave her to her own devices as he continued selfishly on his way. I am at your service.”

“Well I’ve never been accused of being defenseless before, that’s for sure. I am able to manage on my own, thank you anyway. I’ll see you around.” Abbie left no room for argument as she extricated her arm, removed her now broken shoes, and walked the rest of the way home barefoot.

Crane watched Abbie walk proudly down the street, barefoot, for a minute, then shook his head and turned to walk away. He was usually grateful for the gift of an eidetic memory, but he felt it presented unnecessary challenges sometimes. His current challenge, of course, was to find a way to forget the bright red lacy under garments he had seen as Miss Mills laid on the ground, a long tear in her skirt revealing the unmentionables underneath.

*****

Wednesday morning, about two hours into the school day, Abbie couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, but she knew something was up. The kids were unusually sassy with her. She caught a few students giggling when they thought she wasn’t looking. She had checked her wardrobe a couple of times to make sure she hadn’t spilled her chocolate protein breakfast shake on herself (she hadn’t).

After several incidents, Abbie had almost been ready to begin sending students to Principal Reynolds’ office, but she reconsidered. WHS was conservative Catholic private high school, and Reynolds did not tolerate anything less than what he deemed to be pure, Christian behavior. As Abbie didn’t agree with his strict approach towards maintaining a “positive learning environment,” she often gave students several chances before she would threaten to send a student to the principal’s office. Most students settled down immediately when faced with the possibility of seeing Principal Reynolds.

The crackling of the loudspeaker overhead interrupted Abbie’s thoughts. “Miss Mills, please report to Principal Reynolds’ office immediately. Thank you.” A loud knock on the classroom door a second later caused her to jump, and she glanced from the loudspeaker to the door.

Abbie opened the door to find Zoe Corinth, the librarian, on the other side. “Principal Reynolds asked me to watch your class while you are gone,” she said as she breezed past Abbie to take over teaching the day’s lesson. Abbie blinked and began walking to Reynolds’ office.

The door was already open when she got there, so Abbie stepped inside cautiously. She was confused when she saw Reynolds behind his desk and Crane seated in one of the two chairs in front of it. Reynolds gestured to the remaining chair and sternly said, “Have a seat.”

Abbie settled in the chair as she looked over at Crane. His eyes met hers and he subtly indicated his confusion at being called into the office with a nearly invisible shrug of his shoulders.

“Katrina, the door please!” Reynolds yelled at his secretary, Katrina Van Tassel. She appeared seconds later, mumbling an apology as she closed the door quietly.

“Danny, what’s going on?” Abbie began before being silenced with a glare.

“You will address me as Sir or Principal Reynolds, Miss Mills.” Daniel stated plainly. “I know that we have history, but this is neither the time nor the place for any of that. I thought I made it perfectly clear to you that we expect you to uphold the highest moral values during your employment here.”

“You did, Sir,” Abbie said carefully.

“Then can either of you tell me what exactly this is about?” Daniel handed the latest copy the school newspaper, Witness Weekly, across the desk to Crane.

Crane lost all the color in his face as he examined the first page of the newspaper. He silently handed the paper to Abbie, who stared in horror at a color photo of herself lying on the grass, skirt ripped and red underwear visible, with Crane on top of her. Crane’s disheveled hair and Abbie’s state of undress suggested something untoward was happening, while the headline helped the imagination by suggesting, “WHS’s Newest Teachers Involved in Steamy Affair!”

Abbie tossed the paper back onto Reynolds’ desk. “Sir, I don’t know who thought it was okay to print this garbage, but I assure you-”

Reynolds calmly held up his hand. “The student is being handled already; don’t concern yourself with that issue. I am, however, very concerned with the image that is presented in this photo. It is very immoral of you to carry on a physical relationship with someone while you remain unwed. Further, to do so in the wide open just off school property is irresponsible. Did you think that no one would see you?”

“Principal Reynolds, I assure you this is not what it seems. I simply was in awe of the beauty of the area and was not aware of my surroundings when I crashed into Miss Mills, knocking her over,” Crane chimed in to the conversation, glancing sideways at Abbie to gauge her reaction. He could see that she was getting rather upset at the attack on her character and he sought to defend her good reputation.

“I can see exactly what you two were doing, thank you very much, and it wasn’t simply that you two clumsily fumbled into one another while not paying attention. This sets a very bad example for the students, and since you are still on probation, Mr. Crane, I will be relieving you of any further duties here at Witness High School. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you; the students seemed to like you.” Reynolds spread his hands out then as if to say there wasn’t anything he could do.

Reynolds then turned his attention to Abbie, who was beginning to turn a shade of red as she got angrier. She barely even knew Crane, but nobody deserved to be fired without being able to explain himself.

“Miss Mills, I’m sorry, but you are going to be suspended for the rest of the year without pay. You will have to attend classes on the proper etiquette for a single Christian woman to exhibit during your time off, and I will expect a ten page summary of traits shown by a proper Christian woman and temptations presented to them by the devil.”

At that, Abbie stood shakily from her chair, fists clenched at her side. “Sir,” she began slowly, “you and I were physically intimate while we were unmarried, and you had no problem with it then. My sex life today is none of your business. How dare you. It has no bearing on my ability to teach these students.” Abbie breathed slowly in an attempt to calm her rage.

“If you refuse to accept these terms, then you will also find yourself unemployed.” Reynolds responded without a hint of regret.

Crane reached over and grabbed Abbie’s hand and gently pulled, causing her to sit in her chair. Before she could respond to Reynolds, Crane offered, “We are engaged to be married. We were trying to keep it quiet until the school year finished, but it seems the proverbial cat is out of the bag. We are sincerely sorry that you had to find out this way, Principal Reynolds. We were hoping to tell you ourselves after the year had concluded.”

Abbie turned to glare at Crane. She opened her mouth to correct him, but she sensed from the look on his face that he was desperately trying to save her job. She closed her mouth and looked back at Reynolds without saying a word.

Reynolds, who had seemed every bit in control until just then, looked back and forth between the two. He looked like a man who had been punched in the stomach. “Abs, is that true?” he asked quietly, slipping back into using his former nickname for Abbie without even realizing it.

Abbie glanced sideways at Crane to make sure he knew what he was doing. The only emotion she read on his face was resolve. She thought for just a moment about how she would afford the mortgage on the house she just purchased a month before without keeping her job, and made up her mind. “I’m sorry, Sir. We wanted to wait until after the school year to tell people because we didn’t want to distract the students from learning. This picture,” she said, pointing to the school paper on Reynolds’ desk, “is from last night. Crane had just proposed to me, and in my excitement, I jumped up onto him but misjudged the jump and sent us both tumbling to the ground. I ripped my skirt falling over those bushes, but didn’t notice for a few moments because I was so excited. A student must have been there with a camera, because we were only on the ground for a few seconds. I assure you nothing immoral happened. A chaste kiss to seal our engagement and nothing more.”

Abbie was surprised at how easily the lie came out. She could almost feel Crane’s lips on hers, soft but exploring to find just how she liked it. She could imagine him running his hands over her face, cradling her as he positioned her for just the right angle. She shook her head and returned to the chair in Reynolds office, where she reminded herself she was lying to fight for her job.

Reynolds narrowed his eyes at Crane. “Why isn’t she wearing an engagement ring?”

Abbie rolled her eyes, unnoticed by Reynolds, before Crane responded, “where I am from, it is customary to earn your beloved’s acceptance of your proposal prior to procuring an engagement ring. As we have decided to call Sleepy Hollow our permanent home, I thought it would be nice to bring a little of my culture to our relationship. Abbie is fully supportive, and we intend to shop for a ring presently.”

Reynolds looked back at Abbie, who met his gaze with a dazzling smile. “We were thinking of going this weekend,” she added.

“I’m not convinced,” Reynolds said suspiciously. “I’ve never seen you two together, and your body language doesn’t suggest any familiarity with each other. Apart from this picture, of course,” he added.

Crane and Abbie exchanged glances. Crane smiled easily at Abbie, looking at her as if she were the only person in the room. His eyes bore directly into hers, and she felt a warming in the pit of her stomach. Although she knew the whole story was made up, Crane was doing a great job of selling it.

“Principal Reynolds, I can assure you that I have eyes for no other. This woman has stolen my heart and I cannot wait until the day that I get to stand in front of family and friends and declare her to be my wife.” Crane said seriously, grabbing both Abbie’s hands in his own.

Abbie noticed how small her hands were compared to his; his hand enveloped hers fully. At hearing Crane mention the word wife, Abbie felt butterflies in her stomach. “How silly,” she thought, “this whole thing is made up.” Yet her reactions were real. She felt a pride that this intelligent, beautiful man would be happy to call her his wife. She was confused by the emotions running though her mind at the moment, so she simply smiled widely back at him, hopefully returning his adoring gaze in order to placate Reynolds.

“Well, I’m going to need to see proof if you two are going to keep your jobs. Convince me that you actually are engaged and not just lying to save your own skin.” Reynolds demanded, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Abbie and Crane both stood. It was ride or die time. They either sold the lie now, or gave up and begin looking for new jobs. Abbie looked to Crane, trying to read his face. Was he willing to take this lie all the way? Should she just admit the whole thing was made up, apologize, and hope to keep her job after she served her suspension?

“Sir…” Abbie began, but got no more out. Before she could continue, Crane closed the distance between them, grabbed Abbie and pulled her into a kiss. He tilted her head, placing his hands on either sides of her face, and kissed her like she hadn’t been kissed since…well, since Danny. It was equal parts gentle and exploring, but there was also a spark of passion and desire. Before she even knew what was happening, she was kissing Crane back, throwing her arms around him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Crane pulled back, keeping Abbie’s face in his hands. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes, silently communicating his apologies. Abbie nodded ever so slightly, then the pair turned in tandem to gauge Reynolds’s reaction.

Reynolds was still leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, but his mouth had fallen open slightly. He appeared to be flabbergasted and at a loss for words, as for a few moments, he did not respond in any way. After a moment’s silence, he said, “I’m not sure I’m entirely convinced yet, but that seemed genuine. I’m going to allow you both to keep your jobs, under the following conditions: One, there is to be no more embarrassing moments in the grass. Keep whatever you do between yourselves and God. Two, you will both inform your students that they may be tempted to engage in intimate activity with members of the opposite sex, but that God holds those who wait for marriage in the highest regard. Three, I am going to be watching you both. If I feel that you are setting a poor example, in any way, for these students, there will be repercussions. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Abbie and Crane responded in unison.

Reynolds sighed. “I want you both to go home. This is a distraction that I cannot manage effectively while you are here. Take the day and come in fresh tomorrow. I assume that you are living together now, as is the standard for couples engaged, regardless of moral propriety?”

“Yes, Principal Reynolds. I was just telling my Abbie that I will be moving out of my apartment and into her home. Of course, we will keep separate bedrooms until the wedding. Simply a financial transaction, one borne of convenience, you understand,” Crane responded quickly, before Abbie could say anything.

Abbie glared quickly at Crane before putting a loving smile on her face. She was used to speaking for herself and didn’t appreciate Crane dictating the details of their fake engagement. He would certainly pay for that later, but right now, she decided, they’d gone this far, they would have to see the lie through. Abbie didn’t even want to focus on what that meant long-term.

“Alright, fine. I can work with that.” Reynolds replied. “I’ll handle the damage control today. Go home.” With that, Reynolds waved his hand, and like magic, Katrina appeared, door open and obviously waiting for Abbie and Crane to exit.

Both Abbie and Crane stood and said their thanks as they quickly walked out of Reynolds’s office. They exchanged a glance as they walked through the hallways, but said nothing, each understanding there would be a long conversation after leaving school property.


	2. The Move-In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abbie and Crane move in together to sell their engagement story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> Also, if it isn't obvious, I don't own or otherwise have any rights to the characters or the people mentioned in this story. I just happen to love them and found a way to include them.

Abbie and Crane slowly walked outside together in the warm sunshine. Abbie spoke first. “Should we go home, my wonderful fiancé?” she said sarcastically. She glanced down at her cell phone and saw that she had missed two calls and seven text messages from Jenny. She groaned and put her phone away. She couldn’t handle Crane and Jenny right now.

“Miss Mills, please allow me to apologize. Once the story began…it seemed to write itself.” Crane began by way of apology. “I could not let you put your career in jeopardy over a silly misunderstanding. I spoke quickly and only realized what I had said after I heard it with my own ears.”

“Right, well apparently now we have to begin planning our life together,” Abbie complained in anger. “Danny knows me better than you do; he’ll know this isn’t real soon. I should just go back and tell him the truth now. The longer this carries on, the worse it will be.”

Crane stopped walking then, grabbing Abbie’s arm to stop her as well. “Please, Miss Mills. You cannot accept reprimand for this incident. Let us act as though we are betrothed for the remainder of the school year. It is only two months from now. We can tell Principal Reynolds at the beginning of the next school year that we ended our engagement over the summer but that we remain friends.”

“If this is your attempt to see me in my underwear again, I’m not having it, Crane.” Abbie said angrily. “Wait, come to think of it, why didn’t you bother telling me you had seen it in the first place? I had to find out on the front page of the school newspaper? What, did you go home and have dirty dreams about it?”

“Miss Mills, I would never!” Crane said, in horror.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t see anything, Crane. I saw where you were looking in that photo!” Abbie growled lowly.

Crane somehow instinctively knew that if Abbie spoke quieter when she was mad, she was really getting worked up and he needed to speak carefully.

“Yes, I did observe that your skirt had ripped when I fell on you. I meant that I would never take advantage of you in that situation by having impure thoughts. My only concern in that moment was to help return you to a standing position and help you get to your destination unharmed.” Crane spoke quickly and carefully.

Abbie checked for any signs of untruthfulness, but finding none, simply nodded. It had been a long day already, and it was still morning. There would be time to lecture Crane further later, if she chose to. She sighed and continued walking, saying, “Okay then. I guess you are moving in with me. Fortunately, I have three bedrooms in the house. One is being used as a home gym, which I will not take down for you, so you’ll have to claim the guest bedroom, which is in the basement. I have a car, but don’t usually drive it to work on nice days, so we’ll have to walk, unless you have a car here.”

“I do not yet possess a license to operate a vehicle. It is one of the things I intend to do in the future, but I have not yet done so.” Crane said, lacing his hands behind his back and maintaining a stiff posture.

Abbie narrowed her eyes at Crane. “How do you stand so straight? Your posture is perfect all the time.”

Crane raised a solitary finger into the air. “A benefit of frequently practicing yoga. One must maintain proper posture in order to strengthen the trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles. People today slouch, a habit which they will likely come to regret as they age.”

“Okay,” Abbie said slowly, shaking her head. “Well, my home gym has enough space in the corner for yoga. You should feel free to use it whenever you want, since you are living with me now.”

Crane ignored the snark that Abbie clearly laced into the last part of her comments. “I thank you for the kind offer. You might find yoga enjoyable after a stressful day. I would be more than happy to instruct you, if ever you were interested.”

“I usually use wine as my go-to remedy for stressful days, but maybe.” Abbie replied with a grin. “My house is just around the corner up here.”

As the house came into his sight, Crane stared in awe. A beautiful two-story white Victorian home with a front porch beckoned to him. Just like what he’d seen in the movies, a porch swing and chairs and greeted guests before they entered into a recently renovated entry and living room. The house looked comfortable and inviting, and much bigger than Crane’s current 650 square foot apartment.

“Welcome home,” Abbie muttered.

Abbie gave Crane a tour of her house, careful to remind him at each opportunity that it was still her home and that he was merely a guest. Crane, ever the perfect gentleman, made the obligatory “beautiful decorations” and “lovely colors” comments as they made their way throughout the house. They finished the tour in Crane’s bedroom.

“Here’s the guest bedroom,” Abbie said, gesturing with her arms. The room had a large egress window that let in plenty of natural light. On the left from the doorway was a set of his-and-hers closets. On the wall straight ahead, underneath the egress window sat a small table and chair, not far from a bookcase that contained several copies of historical non-fiction as well as current events political non-fiction. The king-sized bed lined the wall on the right, and next to that on the wall containing the doorway was a dresser. “The dresser and closets are empty, so feel free to move in your stuff whenever you’re ready. I don’t spend much time in the basement, so you pretty much have free reign down here. There’s a bathroom just over there,” Abbie said as she turned and pointed near the stairs, “where you can shower without having to come upstairs. Now that I have occasion to think about it, this might work out alright after all. It will look as if we really are engaged, if you don’t look too closely.”

“Yes, Miss Mills, about that. It seems we should endeavor to find you an engagement ring. To complete the story, as you are undoubtedly aware is important.” Crane said, eyeing Abbie carefully.

Abbie sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Hopefully we can find something small and inexpensive. Should we get some lunch, and then start moving you in? We have a lot to do if we’re going to pull this off for two months.”

“Yes, let us do that. And I thank you for indulging in this fantasy, Miss Mills. You will not even know that I am here. Quiet as a mouse, I am,” Crane said, lifting a finger in the air to stop Abbie from leaving before he could finish his thought.

Abbie arched an eyebrow at him. “You know you can’t call me ‘Miss Mills’ around other people. They’ll never believe we are engaged if you do.”

“In public places, you shall be Abbie. Here, in your home, you will remain Miss Mills. You deserve the respect of a proper address. And please do not fret about whether people will believe our engagement. I am an accomplished actor, if I must say myself.” Crane responded firmly, his hands behind his back with his perfect posture on full display. If Abbie wasn’t mistaken, she was sure he puffed out his chest as if declaring himself superior. To what, she wasn’t sure.

Before she could stop herself, Abbie let out a snort. “Sorry, Crane. I can’t imagine you behaving in a way that suggests of intimacy. I have never seen anything that would suggest-”

Before Abbie could finish her sentence, Crane strode over to her with his long, lanky stride, a look of determination on his face. Abbie stopped mid-sentence as she realized that he was coming to prove her wrong. Crane reached one hand into her hair, stroking her scalp softly. The other hand went below her chin, tilting it up to meet his lowered face. He met her surprised gaze with his confident one, and slowly moved his lips toward hers. He stopped just short of touching her lips with his own, then leaned into her ear and whispered, “I once earned a best actor award for my distinguished performance as Romeo in college. And my Juliet was an ex-girlfriend with whom I was no longer speaking.” Crane then moved his left hand from the back of Abbie’s head slowly down her side, stopping just at her hip, appropriate but suggestive. Abbie shivered involuntarily at his touch. A moment later, and a smirk on his lips, Crane released a speechless Abbie.

“They will believe that we are engaged. You mentioned lunch earlier?” Crane said innocently.

“Yeah, sure.” Abbie said when she found her voice again. “Let me just go get cleaned up.” Abbie turned on her heel without another word and speed-walked up the stairs to her bathroom. She closed the door behind her and rested for a moment on the back side. “Just breathe, Abbie, you can do this,” she whispered. After she willed her pulse to slow back to a normal rate, she walked over to the sink and splashed water on her face, then looked in the mirror at herself. Her cheeks were still a little flushed after her encounter with Crane in the basement. She shook her head and mentally chided herself. “You agreed to this, Mills. Get it together,” she muttered.

As Abbie exited the bathroom, she found Crane sitting on her couch in the living room, waiting for her. She smiled at him as she said, “let’s get started on moving you in first. We’ll order lunch in here once we get a few boxes moved over.”

“Wonderful idea, Miss Mills. I will direct you to my apartment.” Crane stood and waited for Abbie to grab her keys.

*****  
After three hours of boxing up Crane’s belongings and then unpacking them at Abbie’s house, both Crane and Abbie were exhausted. Abbie looked over at Crane and watched him run his hands through his hair, watched as the sweat ran down his chest to below the line of where Crane had unbuttoned his dress shirt in order to cool down. Abbie licked her lips unconsciously, thinking of how there could be worse people to play house with for two months. At least Crane was in shape and they could work out together, encouraging each other to go harder and longer. Abbie usually got bored after about 10 minutes and quit on her own. “This could be alright,” she thought.

“Miss Mills?” Crane asked, arching an eyebrow at Abbie and looking amused at her lack of attention. “I asked if you were ready for lunch?”

Abbie shook her head. “Sorry, Crane, yeah. Lunch is good. You can get cleaned up down here and I’ll go order lunch. Chinese okay?”

“It sounds delightful, thank you.” Crane responded as he stood to gather items for the shower.

Upstairs, Abbie put on some music to distract her thoughts. She swayed to the beat of a new Meghan Trainor song and forced herself to relax. To focus. She reminded herself that this was a production to save her job, not an invitation to ogle a tall, handsome, chiseled blue-eyed red-blooded British god. Abbie shook her head to focus herself.

Abbie searched around the kitchen for a Chinese takeout brochure she knew she had around somewhere. After a few minutes, she found it but realized that she hadn’t asked Crane what he liked to eat. Chuckling, Abbie scolded herself mentally. “You might be engaged to the man, but you don’t even know what he likes to eat. Honestly, girl,” she thought as she turned and went downstairs to find Crane. Just as she reached the bottom of the steps, Crane was coming out of the shower and walking toward his bedroom, humming to himself. Abbie stopped in her tracks. Crane was not wearing anything, and she got a front row view of his delicious derriere.

“Crane!” Abbie blurted out suddenly, starting him. He turned toward Abbie, providing her with a front view as well. Abbie shielded her eyes, embarrassed, and said, “Sorry, Crane! I…just came to find out what you like. To eat, I mean. Chinese food. To order. Lunch. Sorry.” Abbie stammered, remaining on the stairs, hands over her eyes. She wanted to die in that moment.

“Miss Mills, my apologies. I did not find any towels in the bathroom, but had already disrobed. As you said you rarely are down here, I just assumed I would be alone and that I had no cause to cover myself. I apologize if you are embarrassed.” Crane, who seemed remarkably at ease, walked over to Abbie and placed his hands on her arms in an attempt to comfort her, while making no attempt to cover himself.

Abbie, still holding her hands over her eyes like a three-year old, mumbled an apology before reaching one hand behind her to slowly feel her way back up the stairs. Once she safely reached the landing, she turned and ran straight for her room and threw herself onto her bed, hiding her face in her pillow and breathing slowly.

After a minute, she decided she’d change out of her sweaty moving clothes and into fresh ones, then she’d find Crane and apologize again. Resolved, Abbie stood up and removed her clothes, tossing them into the clothes hamper. She took off her bra and tossed it onto her bed, digging into her dresser to find a more comfortable sports bra.

Crane, who had been pacing in the basement for a few minutes, had decided he should apologize to Abbie for making her uncomfortable. He found a pair of boxer shorts to throw on and went to find her to apologize. He noticed the door to the room Abbie went in was closed, but he had forgotten the layout of the house in his desire to address Abbie’s discomfort, and thought he was walking into the gym when he opened the door and stepped inside.

Abbie’s eyes widened in shock as she stood up after hearing the door open. She was now standing in just a black satin string bikini and no bra as Crane walked in to the room. Crane’s eyes immediately went to Abbie’s breasts on full display, and Crane swallowed hard, realizing instantly he just made the situation worse.

Abbie stood rooted to the spot in horror. She froze up completely, and made no attempt to cover herself as she just stood in disbelief, staring at Crane. After a moment, she caught herself and reached for something to cover her, but only found a flimsy purple satin camisole, which she held against herself as she glared at Crane.

Abbie opened her mouth to give Crane a speech about maintaining fences and boundaries, but stopped short when she glanced down. His gray boxer shorts were tented as he stood, hands at his sides, fidgeting fingers.

“You may want to cover up, Crane,” Abbie said as she stretched the cami over her breasts.

Crane tore his eyes away from Abbie to look down at himself. While he had already been a deep shade of tomato red, Crane flushed further and quietly retreated back to his bedroom to finish dressing.

Abbie dropped the cami on the bed and turned to look at herself in her full-length mirror. “Well,” she thought, “this is going well so far.” She finished dressing then, wearing the cami (why not – he obviously liked it) and a pair of sleep shorts.

Abbie saw Crane waiting for her in the living room, but she went to the kitchen and straight to the fridge. Because her house had an open concept floor plan, Crane watched her, gathering his thoughts for his latest apology. Abbie walked over to the living room with two beers in hand, gave one to Crane, and said, “Well, you’ve seen me in my underwear twice now, and I’ve seen you naked once. Good thing we’re engaged.” She smiled then, before taking a long drag from the beer.

“About that, Miss Mills. Please accept my apology. I thought I was entering the home gym room, not your bedroom. It will not happen again, I assure you.” Crane said, eyes lowered toward the floor in shame.

“It’s fine. I’ll make sure to move some towels into the bathroom downstairs for you. Now about lunch…” Abbie said in reply.

*****  
An hour later Abbie’s phone rang. “Oh, shit,” Abbie said, immediately guessing it was Jenny. She hadn’t returned any of her messages since that morning and knew she was in for a long conversation with her. Abbie connected the call, then heard the doorbell ring. “Hang on a sec, Jenny,” she said into the phone as she lowered it to yell at Crane. “Crane, can you get the door for me?”

Crane, who had been in the gym doing yoga, emerged to answer the door, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. He preferred to do yoga shirtless and didn’t bother to cover himself before answering the door, since he figured if by some chance it was Principal Reynolds, it would present a good image.

Instead, Crane opened the door to find a tall, curly-haired woman who resembled Abbie holding a phone in one hand and pounding on the door with the other. She looked Crane up and down for a moment, then said into the phone, “Abbie, why is there a sweaty half-naked man in your house?”

Abbie came running to the front door, pulled Jenny inside, and shut the door behind her. She made the introductions, then yanked Jenny into her room to talk.

Crane shook his head and went downstairs to finish unpacking the rest of his belongings into his bedroom. Every now and then he would hear a high-pitched voice float downstairs, but mostly it was just quiet.

Half an hour later, Crane was finishing unloading the remainder of his belongings, which struck him as kind of sad. Four hours to pack and unpack all of one’s possessions doesn’t seem nearly long enough. Just then, he heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to find one Jenny Mills standing in his doorway.

“You better make this work, Crane, because if you don’t, I will personally kick your ass. Abbie’s worked too hard to lose it all to some punk yoga idiot tree-hugger who wants to play house.” Jenny put her hands on her hips and gave Crane her best all-business glare.

“Miss Jenny, I have no intention of hurting your sister. I had rather hoped this would help, actually. Principal Reynolds was in a position to unjustly render blame and punishment upon your sister. I saw this as my only option of saving her job.” Crane said apologetically. He understood the sisterly bond that necessitated the protection instinct Miss Jenny was clearly demonstrating currently.

“Whatever, just don’t screw it up.” Jenny turned to leave, then paused in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder. “And for God’s sake, put a shirt on!”

After a few more minutes, Crane made his way upstairs to face the sisters in tandem, only to find that Jenny had left after their conversation. Abbie looked up from a cup of cappuccino made from her home brewing machine, a weary expression on her face.

“Sorry about that attack, Crane. Jenny gets a little protective sometimes.”

“It was no trouble.” Crane replied evenly. He regarded Abbie carefully. She looked as though she had spent the day fighting off the impending apocalypse.

Wordlessly, Abbie offered Crane a taste of her cappuccino, which Crane immediately accepted. Upon taking a sip, he exclaimed, “Goodness! You drink this foul beverage? No, that simply will not do. Allow me to remake your drink.”

Abbie only watched and said nothing. She felt as if she had no energy left. Jenny had argued with her for the better part of an hour about how bad this idea was, her and Crane playing house. It was too risky and she barely knew Crane. It was too serious with her job on the line. Abbie, after some time, had been able to convince Jenny she had no other choice and would make it work, but she argued more confidently than she felt. In truth, she had no idea if this would work or if she would end up losing her job after all. But now that she had gone this far, she felt she may as well carry on to the end. Abbie Mills was no quitter.

Crane put the finishing touches on the newly-made cappuccino, leaving Abbie to her thoughts while he had done so. He stood back a few paces and watched, pride in his blue eyes, as Abbie took a sip and moaned in appreciation.

“Are you kidding, Crane? This is amazing!” Abbie exclaimed after she stopped moaning.

“Yes, well, I am something of a coffee snob, as it were, and I have over the years perfected the art of making a good cup of cappuccino. I shall endeavor to please you with my skill during the course of our engagement.” Crane replied quickly, a blush creeping into his cheeks at the sounds of Abbie moaning in pleasure.

After a few silent moments, Abbie set the cup down on the counter and looked up at Crane. “I suspect,” she began, “that tomorrow will be a long day. These types of ‘scandals’ never seem to die down very quickly, and everyone will be talking about our supposed engagement for awhile. Why don’t we just order in for dinner, and just binge watch TV?”

Crane smiled slowly. “That,” he said, his finger lifting into the air, “is the best idea I’ve heard in some time. Let us ‘binge’ on sustenance of the body and mind.” 

Crane and Abbie settled in and spent the next few hours watching episode after episode of Castle on Netflix, which Crane enjoyed because of the quick wit and humor scattered throughout the show, and Abbie because she enjoyed watching a strong female lead who had more to offer than just good looks. At some point, they both decided they couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer and decided to head to bed, uncertain of what would be in store for them the next day.


	3. A New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crane and Abbie settle into their new normal as an engaged couple. But Reynolds still doesn't quite believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note - updated trigger warnings apply.

The morning went surprisingly well, given the circumstances. Crane and Abbie were able to get ready in the morning with a rhythm that suggested a familiarity with one another. Abbie was pleasantly surprised.

They met in the kitchen for coffee to go at exactly 7:20. “Are you ready Crane?” Abbie asked, grabbing her purse and coffee.

“I am prepared, Miss Mills. We have decided upon our courtship history story, and I am certain that it will withstand the highest level of scrutiny.”

Abbie nodded and said “Well then, let’s go. First day of our public engagement.”

Neither Crane nor Abbie could have anticipated what to expect, but both were surprised that the staff lounge had been filled with a small amount of balloons and there was even a cake.

Abbie, looking around in confusion, asked, “Who arranged all this?”

Jenny breezed into the staff lounge just then, saying, “I did, of course. It’s time to stop hiding your love and celebrate it! Besides, nobody’s had a birthday in awhile, so it was high time we had cake around here.”

Crane stared at Jenny in wonder. She breezed around the room as if this was all standard and normal. There was no hint that she was in on the secret that this was an arrangement of convenience and necessity. Jenny walked past Crane on her way back to her office, giving him a little wink.

The next ten minutes were filled with congratulations and a seemingly endless chorus of “I didn’t even know you two were dating!” and “Can I see your ring?” Abbie put on a good front, but was quickly growing tired of the attention.

Crane, sensing Abbie’s patience wearing thin, stepped in. “Abbie, my love, you have to get to your morning class before you are tardy. Perhaps we can meet for a lunch date to enjoy a piece of our lovely cake then, yes?” Crane gently steered Abbie by the shoulders away from her suddenly adoring crowd toward the door.

Abbie glanced up at Crane and gave him an appreciative smile. “Sure, that would be great,” she said in reply.

“Give her a kiss! Let’s see it!” yelled Todd Pimbley from the back of the room. Mr. Pimbley taught English and was usually fairly reserved, so many of the staff looked back at him in surprise. Mr. Pimbley only shrugged and motioned for a kiss.

Abbie turned to Crane and quietly whispered, “You don’t have to take it this far if you don’t want to.”

Crane stared down into her deep chocolate brown eyes a minute before saying, “I would not want to disappoint the will of the people, now would I?” A twinkle in his eyes, Crane leaned down and scooped Abbie into his arms, kissing her gently at first, to gain her permission.

Abbie forgot where she was for a moment and returned Crane’s kiss with enthusiasm. It was just the right mix of soft but needy. She felt so petite wrapped in Crane’s arms, but it all just worked and felt natural. After a moment, the appreciative whistling returned Abbie’s thoughts to the present, and she pulled back from Crane in slight embarrassment.

“I’ll see you at lunch,” she said as she quickly walked down the hallway toward her class. As she walked, she could hear Crane getting slapped on the shoulder and complimented on his luck in getting such a beautiful woman to agree to spend her life with him, mostly from the men left in the staff lounge. She shook her head and continued on.

The morning went by quickly. The students were a little more rambunctious than normal, and a few even teased her on being “in looooooove,” as one student put it. Abbie only needed to remind them that Principal Reynolds would be happy to have visitors to his office to put an end to the ill behavior, and they settled back into their usual routine.

Before Abbie knew it, Crane was knocking at her door signaling that it was lunch. Staff had an hour lunch period in between classes, so they decided to take their sandwiches outside for a walking lunch.

Abbie related to Crane the events of her morning and asked if he noticed any difference in his usual routine as a result of their situation.

Crane considered for a moment before replying, “I have had a multitude of gentleman staff members congratulate me on, as they say, ‘snagging such a fine catch.’ I am not sure what exactly they mean by that turn of phrase, but I gather from their facial expressions that you are a much sought after woman, Miss Mills.”

Abbie snorted and said, “Yeah, well, men have a tendency to want that which they cannot have.”

Crane regarded her strangely for a moment. “Miss Mills, pardon my frankness on this matter, but are you aware that you are a beautiful woman?”

Abbie stopped walking and looked at Crane. “What are you getting at, Crane?”

“Miss Mills, I am not sure that you understand how rare you are. You are intelligent, resourceful, loyal, beautiful…nothing short of remarkable. Any man would be lucky to call you his fiancée, but it seems I currently hold that distinct honor. I imagine that will not help me make new friends with the male staff who seem to be rather disappointed and – dare I say – jealous.”

Abbie was silent for a minute. Then she said, “Well, we’re in this together now. Everyone will get used to it; it’s just new right now.”

“Yes, so it seems. To that end,” Crane began, then kneeled down on the sidewalk in front of Abbie, “I would like to formally propose our engagement. Miss Mills, would you do me the honor of being my pretend fiancée?”

Abbie’s mouth fell open as she looked upon the most beautiful pale pink pear-shaped diamond. At about a half carat, the ring was big enough to be believable but not so big so as to dwarf Abbie’s petite fingers. Set in a simple white gold band, the ring caught the sunlight and sparkled beautifully.

“Crane, how did you…when did you…what is this?” Abbie stammered, not taking her eyes off the ring.

“I was given my mother’s engagement ring some time ago. My mother had hoped that I would marry and give her grandchildren as soon as I reached my eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, I had other plans. I have always kept the ring in my possession since then, and it would make me very happy for you to accept this as a symbol of our engagement.”

Abbie looked into Crane’s eyes. “Fake engagement,” she said firmly.

“Yes, of course.” Crane replied. “However, it seems to me that if we are to continue this story, you must wear a ring.”

“But Crane, this is your mother’s ring. That means something. Can’t we just go to a pawn shop and find something else?” Abbie argued.

“Do you not find the ring pleasing?” Crane asked carefully.

“No, of course not. It’s gorgeous,” Abbie corrected quickly. “It’s just that wearing your mother’s ring is a big deal. Wouldn’t you rather I wear something…less personal?”

“If you are to be my fiancée, real or otherwise, I would have you wear something that is as special as you are. I would be honored to see you wear it.” Crane insisted.

“What would your mother think?” Abbie asked.

Crane thought for a moment, then replied, “I think my mother would say it looks beautiful on your finger.”

“Wait, should I meet your parents? Shouldn’t they know about this arrangement?” Abbie asked suddenly.

“Miss Mills. I am kneeling here on the ground before you, asking you for your hand in marriage. All the details can be arranged at a later time. My mother and my father have been deceased for some time now, so it is only us that we need to be concerned with. Will you accept this ring?”

Abbie unknowingly stood a little straighter before saying, “Yes, of course I will.”

Crane slipped the pale pink gem on her finger, and both took a moment to admire how lovely it looked. Abbie noted with surprise that it even fit perfectly, like it was always meant to be hers. She shook her head, thinking of how strange this all was. Not a week ago she was a single woman with a new job and a new house. Now she was engaged to be married and was living with her fiancé.

Crane smiled down at Abbie proudly and said “Shall we go enjoy a slice of our celebratory cake before we continue our academic endeavors?”

Crane offered Abbie his arm, which she accepted as they walked back to the school together.

*****

The rest of the day flew by without serious incident. Everyone kept their congratulations to a minimum, as Reynolds would accept no distractions.

Abbie was surprised when she had a knock on her office door at 4:30. Looking up, she found Crane standing in her doorway. She smiled as she said, “Hey Crane.”

“Abbie, my treasure. Are you ready to walk home?”

“Sure, let me just grab a few things and we can…” Abbie paused as she looked up and saw Crane. He wasn’t looking at her, but down the hallway. And he was frowning. “Crane?”

Crane didn’t respond, but stood straight and stiff, stepping aside slowly as Reynolds approached Abbie’s door.

Reynolds barely hid a glare at Crane as he turned his attention toward Abbie. “Miss Mills, I was hoping to catch you before you left for the day. Would you mind coming with me before you leave?”

Abbie blinked, surprised. The thought that they might have blown their cover quickly popped into her head, but she pushed that thought aside as she smiled widely and agreed.

“Crane, I’ll just meet you at home for dinner?” Abbie asked as she stepped out of her office.

“Of course, my love. I shall be waiting for your return.” Crane scowled when Reynolds turned to walk away.

Abbie and Reynolds walked silently into his office. Reynolds gestured for Abbie to take a seat in front of his desk, then closed his office door. To Abbie’s surprise, he sat in front of her on his desk instead of sitting behind it.

“Sir, what is this about?” Abbie began.

“Abs, you can tell me what’s really going on. This whole thing…” Reynolds paused. “I don’t really think you are engaged to that man. If you’re being pressured into this, I can have him fired.”

Abbie’s face went from confused to defiant. “Sir, you know I don’t do anything that I don’t want to. That man is my fiancé, as we said. We live together.”

“Abs, I know you. You were always reluctant to take that last step. You never got to close to anybody.” Reynolds sighed. “I know I screwed up our relationship by not pushing you harder to commit, but you don’t have to do this.”

“Do what, exactly?” Abbie questioned.

“Pretend to be engaged to get me back! We can find another way around the rules. Heck, I make the rules. I can change them.” Reynolds shook his head, desperation in his eyes. “Abs, I never should have let you go.”

“You and I mutually agreed to split, remember?” Abbie said firmly. “You made it clear you were not interested when I applied for this position. I moved on, Danny.”

Danny stood and helped Abbie stand with him. He put his hands on the side of her face tenderly, gently rubbing his thumbs along her cheekbones. Abbie said nothing for a few seconds as she processed her shock, then pulled away.

“Danny!” she said.

“Abs, I know this is a farce. I’m going to prove it. You don’t know anything about that man!” Danny said desperately. “We’re good together, you know we are. Let me just try again.”

Abbie pulled away and grabbed for her purse. This was quickly escalating into a dangerous situation, and she recognized it immediately. Not only was her cover story with Crane surprisingly thin since they hadn’t gotten around to covering the little details a normal couple would know about each other, but also Reynolds was much bigger than she was. If he wanted to, he could probably overpower her.

“Danny, I love Crane. We are engaged. You and I are over.” Abbie said firmly as she turned to leave.

Reynolds’s eyes clouded over as he processed Abbie’s words. His face suddenly went from desperate to angry. He lunged for Abbie’s arm, and when he grabbed it, pulled her into his chest with a thud. Abbie lost grip on her purse and dropped it, but that was the furthest thing from her mind as she struggled to get loose.

“You were mine once and you will be mine again,” Reynolds growled as he kissed a struggling Abbie. 

Reynolds, who stood about 8 inches taller than Abbie, had no trouble wrapping his arms around her smaller frame as he forced her into a kiss. Although she struggled against him, she could find no purchase to gain any kind of advantage. Reynolds’s kiss was desperate and forceful. Once upon a time, Abbie remembered him being a good kisser. Now all she wanted to do was get away as quickly as possible.

Reynolds had backed Abbie up onto the couch during the struggle. Abbie had a moment during her fight where she found herself thinking how strange it was that a couch would be in his office. Reynolds used his new position on top of Abbie to his advantage as he freed a hand to snake up her leg and under her skirt. He felt the satiny smooth underwear and began to sneak his fingers beneath, making their way toward Abbie’s core.

Abbie regained mental clarity as she realized exactly what Reynolds was about to do with her. She stopped struggling and began to kiss Reynolds back. This shift allowed Abbie to briefly gain the upper hand, which she used to bite down – hard – on Reynolds’s lip. As Reynolds instinctively drew back in pain, Abbie had used her right hand to reach down onto the floor where her purse had fallen. She found her keys and grabbed them, then jammed them into Reynolds’s side.

Abbie was then able to push herself out from under him, toppling him onto the floor. She wound up and kicked him as hard as she could, aiming low. As Reynolds howled in pain, Abbie grabbed the rest of her things and ran out of his office, not stopping for anything as she grabbed her phone.

Unfortunately for her, Reynolds caught up to her quickly, grabbing her and slamming her into the wall, pinning her in place between the wall and him.

With fire in his eyes, Reynolds glared at Abbie and grabbed her underneath her jaw, lifting her head toward him. “You will not mention this to anyone, or you will not like the consequences.” Reynolds spit at her threateningly.

Abbie responded by spitting in his face and saying “Go to hell, Danny.”

She then felt a searing pain on the left side of her face. Her vision went white and then returned, blurry. She tasted blood in her mouth. She looked at Reynolds, eyes wide in shock.

“You will not say anything to anyone about this or you will pay,” Reynolds repeated his threat, lowly. He then let her go and walked away calmly.

Abbie stared at the retreating form of Reynolds, not entirely sure if she just dreamed the last 20 minutes. She raised a hand and gingerly felt her face, which was enough to assure her that she was not dreaming. She wordlessly began the walk home, not sure what to do next.

*****

Crane had been pacing in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what had transpired between Abbie and Reynolds, but he was sure they’d need to talk when she got home. Either Reynolds had figured out that they weren’t really engaged and they would both find themselves unemployed, or they would need to get to know each other better to sell their story. Crane was surprised when he realized they hadn’t covered any details earlier.

Crane thought he was prepared for either scenario, but he soon found he wasn’t prepared when Abbie walked through the door, left eye swollen and clothing rumpled.

Crane rushed to Abbie’s side. “Miss Mills, are you harmed? Should I call for the assistance of a medic?”

Abbie waved him off. “I’m fine, Crane.” She threw her purse onto the counter and headed straight to the fridge, where she grabbed a beer and a cold pack. She opened the beer and nearly downed it, then placed the cold pack on her eye, sitting down at the table.

“Are you certain I should not call for help? You look as if you have been on the losing side of a battle.” Crane, worried, tried to peek behind the cold pack, which earned him a swat on the wrist and a glare.

“I’m fine. Reynolds tried to make me get back together with him is all. We’re going to need to work on our cover story more. I wasn’t at all prepared to handle questions about you! I barely know you, Crane, and this won’t work if we aren’t fully committed.” Abbie ranted in frustration.

Crane stood tall, not hearing anything beyond the fact that Reynolds had apparently acted inappropriately with Abbie. “What did that scoundrel of the most epic proportions do to you?” He growled angrily.

Abbie stood, placing her free hand on Crane’s shoulder. “Nothing I can’t handle, Crane. I had a boyfriend who was too aggressive once. It was fine.”

Crane clenched and unclenched his fists slowly. He began to feel the color rising up from his neck into his face as he found himself getting angrier.

“That is thrice you have described your emotions as ‘fine.’ Tell me what happened with Daniel Reynolds or I will go over there and find him myself.” Crane warned.

Abbie rolled her eyes and sat back down. She finished her beer before she began, telling Crane all the details of her encounter with Reynolds. Crane, to his credit, kept remarkably calm as she recounted the events of the meeting.

His eyes softened as he listened to Abbie speak. When she was done, and not a moment before, he made to remove the cold pack. Abbie jumped back at first, but then caught herself. She lowered the cold pack and set it on the table.

Crane gasped. Abbie’s eye had reduced in size, but was beginning to take a purple hue. She had bruises forming on her jaw, and her lip had a small cut on it, which had trickled some blood onto the cold pack.

“That monster will pay for having laid his hands upon you,” Crane vowed firmly.

Abbie reached for his hands. “Forget about him for now,” she pleaded. “This has taught me that we need to get to know each other, to get our stories straight, and to make people believe beyond any doubt. Although we previously discussed us as a couple, I couldn’t give any details about your family, your eating preferences, what you like best about me, anything, if I had been pressed! This will never work if we don’t work on us. We’re partners now.”

Crane swallowed, considering. “Are you certain you do not wish to pursue criminal charges against him?” He asked carefully.

Abbie shook her head. “This won’t get better if we go that route. The way he threatened me…” Abbie trailed off, trying to make sense of the confidence Reynolds had. “I’m not sure he doesn’t have police friends. He seemed pretty confident that he could get away with this. And besides, if I accuse him of any kind of sexual misconduct, I’m sure he’ll bring up the fact that we were dating once. We’ve slept together, Crane. He’ll use that against me, I’m sure.”

Crane slammed his fist on the table in frustration. “You should not have to go through this, Miss Mills. But if you are sure you want to leave it alone, I will acquiesce. You are correct in your assessment that we need to know each other better. We should begin tonight, if you feel up to it.”

Abbie sighed heavily. “Thank you, Crane. Let me go take a bath to clear my head. I’ll come down and we can begin to get to know one another.”

Twenty-five minutes later, Abbie emerged from the bathroom, freshly cleaned and dressed, smelling of lavender and vanilla. Crane was waiting on the couch, waiting to help.

“At ease, Crane. I feel better now.” Abbie sat carefully. “Let’s start by talking about ourselves?”

“Shall I begin, or would you like to?” Crane inquired.

“You start.” Abbie said.

“Very well. I was born and raised in Dover, England. My father was a barrister and he and my mother stayed at home with me; they were quite happy. I am an only child. My parents, I mentioned before, are now deceased. They tragically perished in an automobile accident shortly before my eighteenth birthday. I attended school in Oxford and began teaching yoga classes before I was offered a position here.”

Abbie nodded. “As you know, I have a younger sister, Jenny. My dad ran out on us when we were just kids, and my mom had health issues, so she was eventually committed to Tarrytown Psychiatric, where she ended her own life. After that, I took care of my sister as best I could, but she eventually skipped town and cut off all ties with me. I attended New York State University and worked as a lieutenant in a local police department before I decided to change my career course and came here.”

“A lieutenant?” Crane smiled slowly. “It suits you, Lieutenant.”

“Lef-tenant?” Abbie asked, confused.

“It is the standard pronunciation in England, yes. And I think I shall address you by that title from henceforth.”

Abbie shook her head. “Alright, fine. What about your favorite foods? Movies? Color?”

“I confess I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I enjoy the Star Trek movies. I prefer the color green. And you, Lieutenant?”

“I’m a sucker for hot wings. I don’t have a favorite movie, actually. And I like the color blue.”

Abbie and Crane continued trading facts and stories from their pasts over dinner and well into the evening. Abbie found herself laughing at Crane’s ridiculous stories growing up.

Crane hesitated. “You mentioned a previous…dalliance with Principal Reynolds. Have you had many previous relationships?”

Abbie gasped in pretend shock. “Are you asking me my number, Crane?”

“I…well…I believe I am, yes.” Crane stammered, blushing.

“Well, you already know about Danny. There was also one night I had when I was working at the station, Andy. We got a little too drunk at the company Christmas party, and regretted it the next morning.”

Crane stared at Abbie. “Two? You have only been with two men?”

Abbie glared. “Excuse me? Are you judging me? Because if you are the kind of man who thinks that women need to remain a virgin until marriage, we’re going to have a real problem here.”

“No, no, of course not. It is only that I am surprised it is not more. You are a delightful woman. And from what I have seen…” Crane, stopped, embarrassed. Perhaps, he thought, reminding Abbie that he had seen her in only her underwear wasn’t the best idea. Although, with his eidetic memory, he would certainly never forget it.

Crane cleared his throat loudly. “I am surprised that more men have not taken notice of your many desirable traits. Certainly they can see what I have seen – that you are a woman of the highest caliber. I apologize if I have given you offense, Lieutenant.”

Abbie shrugged as she digested his explanation. “We’re good, Crane. What about you? How many women have you been with?”

Crane sat up straighter. “I was previously betrothed. Her name was Katrina, and I really thought I was in love.” Crane sighed. “Unfortunately, she decided she would rather marry my best friend, Abraham. I began to apply for positions in the United States immediately after that unpleasant incident.”

Abbie grabbed Crane’s hand in a show of support. “I’m sorry, Crane. Katrina must have been a fool to cheat on you.”

Crane stood. “It is no matter. What has happened is in our past. These circumstances have, in the end, brought us together. Although we are only beginning to learn about one another, I am glad to have met you. And I am happy to be your fiancé, if only as a ruse to maintain employment.”

Crane arched an eyebrow when he caught Abbie staring at her engagement ring. In such a short time, it had already begun to feel as if it belonged there. Abbie, upon looking up and seeing Crane watching her, colored and stood as well.

“It’s getting late, Crane. We should get some sleep.”

“Indeed, Lieutenant. I wish you pleasant dreams.”

“Good night, Crane.”


	4. Alcohol-Induced Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abbie decides she and Crane need to work on their intimacy. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind comments so far. And thanks for sticking with me this far. I had some serious writer's block issues, and then lost some data on my flash drive while writing. (Never leave it plugged in and leave it sitting for extended periods if you have small, sometimes rambunctious children)
> 
> Also, sorry in advance for this chapter. But what's Ichabbie if not frustrating?

The rest of the week passed without any more incidents. Abbie and Crane began to feel quite comfortable with one another, and settled into an easy routine. No one outwardly questioned their relationship, not even Reynolds, though he kept himself scarce. Things continued as normal.

One Friday night, after the pair arrived home, Abbie went to her room and changed out of her work clothes. Crane had gone into the gym to do some yoga before dinner. Crane finished his workout and went into the kitchen to get some more water, sweat dripping down his toned torso.

Just then, Abbie came around the corner, hair freshly washed and wrapped in a towel. Crane stared as she came into the kitchen and walked past him to grab a water from the fridge. He couldn’t take his eyes off her; she looked like a goddess. Tantalizing, smooth skin on toned legs that seemed to go forever – silly, Crane thought, since she was so short – ended mid-thigh where a short black dress reached. A sweetheart neckline revealed just enough cleavage to make Crane’s mouth go dry. The dress hugged all of Abbie’s curves, which Crane noticed as his eyes hungrily roamed her body.

“Earth to Crane?” Abbie rolled her eyes. “Did you hear a word I said?”

“Lieutenant, my apologies. Would you mind repeating your statement?”

“I asked if you wanted to come out with me tonight. Jenny’s birthday is today, so we’re going to dinner and drinks to celebrate.”

“Of course, that sounds delightful. I had made no plans for this evening.”

“Well, put on your dancing shoes. When I drink, I dance.” Abbie winked as she breezed past Crane to finish her hair and makeup. When she reached her bedroom, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. She had had a difficult time keeping her eyes off Crane with his toned arms and his six-pack stomach, sweat running down his delicious chest. She had to keep her cool.

Abbie grabbed a brush and watched as she ran it through her hair, thinking. Did she have to check herself? They were playing an engaged couple, so people would expect them to display a little PDA. Abbie found herself nodding as she continued thinking. Yes, it would be rather weird if they didn’t act as if they were attracted to one another. Maybe it was okay after all.

Abbie smiled as she put her brush away and worked on her makeup.

Ten minutes later, Crane knocked on Abbie’s door.

“Lieutenant? Miss Jenny is on the telephone for you. I answered the call because I saw it was her…”

Abbie opened the door and took the phone from Crane. “You don’t have to explain, Crane. People expect us to be in love and doing things like that.”

“Say that again, Abbie?” Jenny said incredulously on the other end of the line. “I just called to say that I’m running 20 minutes late, but I’ll be there to pick you up soon, but tell me again what’s going on with you and Mr. Yoga Hottie?”

Abbie rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ll see you when you get here.” Abbie promptly disconnected the call and walked out to the kitchen, where Crane was waiting.

Abbie dropped her jaw just a little as she took in the sight of him. He was dressed in slim-fit jeans (but not skinny – she’d already gotten the rambling speech about how skinny jeans were the sign of an impending apocalypse) and a dark green striped dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top couple of buttons left undone, showing just a little chest hair. His long hair was pulled back into a low “man bun” and he was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She swallowed slowly as she said, “So Jenny’s going to be a little late picking us up. What do you want to do?”

“Hmm. I do not think we could fit a game of chess into that short of a timeframe-” Crane began, but was interrupted by Abbie grabbing him and pulling him down to kiss her.

“Lieutenant, whatever are you doing?” He asked when she let him go.

“I think we need to work on our intimacy. You know, to sell the story. People will expect some PDA out of a recently engaged couple tonight. I want to make sure you are comfortable before we’re in front of everybody. Your reaction just now shows me maybe you won’t be comfortable.”

“I haven’t the slightest idea of what you mean by ‘PDA’ Lieutenant, but I am amenable to being more physically affectionate if that is what you think would be best.”

“Right.” Abbie said. “Just kiss me. It needs to look to everyone like we do this often.”

Crane lifted an eyebrow, but acquiesced. It was better than Abbie remembered from the last time in Reynolds’s office. It was tender and sweet, exploring what the other found preferable, but soon enough it turned more passionate. Crane ran a hand down the side of Abbie’s dress, while Abbie found her way inside Crane’s shirt, running her hands over his smooth pectoral muscles.

“What would you do if I really were your fiancée?” Abbie breathed into Crane’s ear.

Abbie gasped as Crane suddenly lifted her into his hips, exposing her black lacey thong as her dress rode further up her legs with the new position. Crane’s eyes darkened with lust as he took in the sight. He had never seen a woman so beautiful. His mouth went dry and made his way quickly to the couch, setting her down gently.

“This,” was Crane’s only reply.

Abbie arched her back, pressing her head into the couch cushions, desperately reaching her hips forward for more contact. Her breathing was rough, her pupils blown wide. She had forgotten when this had transitioned from an intimacy exercise to a lust-fueled hook up, but Abbie had no trouble with the direction this was headed.

Crane could smell Abbie’s arousal and began running his finger along the edge of her panties. He looked briefly at her to make sure she didn’t wish him to stop, then slowly ran the panties down her legs and onto the floor. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Freshly waxed and so wet she was almost dripping, Crane started for her, but stopped as he heard the doorbell ring.

Abbie sat up quickly and lunged for her panties. She headed for the door as she smoothed her dress back into place as she hissed at Crane, “That must be Jenny! Let’s go!”

Abbie greeted Jenny awkwardly at the door, trying her best not to give away what had been happening only moments before. Crane stood tall and straight, and was the picture of a perfect gentleman. Jenny glanced accusingly back and forth between the two before she turned and headed for the car.

“Fake engagement my ass,” Crane thought he heard the younger Mills sister say, but he couldn’t quite be sure.

*****

Dinner was an entertaining venture. The service was a little slow given the number of people dining, but the food was excellent and well worth the wait. The atmosphere was perfect for a group party – music playing loud enough to hear but quiet enough to talk over, and lighting dim but bright enough to see well. Jenny had invited a few co-workers and friends so that their group was 8 people.

A few of the co-workers gushed over Abbie’s ring, but everybody moved on quickly. Dinner ended and the group went to a bar together to continue celebrating Jenny’s birthday. As it happened, the bartender had a crush on Jenny, so a few free shots were given to Jenny, Abbie, and Crane.

Abbie was always pretty good at holding her liquor, but Crane wasn’t as accomplished. Though he would never admit it, his vision began to blur and he could no longer stand as straight as usual. Liquor also loosened his tongue a little, and pretty soon he pulled Abbie aside and said, “My treasure, my darling dearest Abigail, you are the most beautiful sight I have ever had the pleasure of regarding.”

Abbie laughed, loud and happy. “Maybe less to drink for you, Crane.”

Crane stomped his feet. “No, not less, but more. You must share in this wonderful feeling I am experiencing!”

Just then, Jenny came by with her bartender shadow. She smiled a wry grin and loudly yelled “Body shots for the engaged couple!”

The bar went wild, people chanting “body shots” loudly. Jenny’s bartender friend was quick to get the shot ready. Since Abbie was wearing a dress, she thought it would be hilarious to offer Crane as the shot glass, which he accepted, to her surprise.

Abbie took her shot, which earned a huge round of cheers from the drunk bar patrons, both the men and women. As she was high-fiveing Jenny and some friends, one drunk man got the idea that he and Abbie would make a good couple, and Abbie began to have a hard time shrugging him off. Crane immediately swept in, grabbed Abbie and pulled her in for a long kiss.

“Would you like to dance my darling Abigail?” Crane slurred slightly.

Abbie bit back her annoyance at Crane’s obvious jealousy and possessive behavior. She reminded herself that it helped to sell their engagement to the public. Abbie grinned wide. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The drunk man shook his head and muttered, walking away, as Abbie and Crane made their way to the floor. The music was loud and the beat was pounding. Abbie laughed after a few minutes when it became apparent that Crane had no idea how to dance to that type of music. He was all legs and arms and no rhythm. But pretty soon he learned to simply sway in time to the beat as he was more interested in feeling how smooth Abbie’s dress was over her curves.

Soon Abbie and Crane slowed as they became more interested in each other than the dancing. Hands were everywhere, then touching gave way to kissing. After a few minutes, Abbie pulled back to catch her breath.

“You want to get out of here?” She breathed into Crane’s ear.

“I do not believe I am able to make accurate judgments at this point in time. I think I have had one too many drinks tonight.” Crane bit out.

Abbie laughed and grabbed Crane’s hand. “Come on.”

Abbie made her way over to Jenny and let her know they would be heading home. Jenny smirked and reminded Abbie to be safe.

Twenty minutes and a quiet cab ride later, Crane and Abbie were home. Abbie walked in the door and kicked her shoes off, going for the kitchen and getting some water. Crane sloppily removed his shoes and stumbled into the kitchen behind Abbie.

Long slender fingers inched along the edge of Abbie’s dress. “Miss Mills…I believe this dress, while beautiful on, might look even better lying on the floor.”

Abbie whirled around to face Crane. “Are you hitting on me?” She asked. “We aren’t out in public anymore. You don’t have to pretend.”

“Who is pretending?” Crane said, lowering his voice to that baritone that made Abbie shiver involuntarily.

Abbie set down her water. She looked at Crane, then arched an eyebrow and smirked. That was all the invitation Crane needed.

In a second, he had wrapped her in his arms, bending down to kiss her. Abbie leaned back against the kitchen island to allow for better access. Crane reached hungrily, touching every inch of skin. He caressed her shoulders and ran his hands down his arms as he leaned in to kiss her shoulders. Abbie moaned, reaching for his shirt.

She had Crane’s shirt unbuttoned and open before he even knew she was doing it. She ran her hands over his ripped yoga abs, sighing happily. She’d had plenty to drink, but she was quickly sobering up in the best possible way.

“Should we continue what we started earlier this evening?” She teased Crane.

“Best idea you have ever had.” Crane said lowly.

Crane picked Abbie up, eliciting a squeal from Abbie. He swayed just a little, but straightened himself quickly and made for his bedroom. Abbie reached for him, kissing him the entire way. She was content to let Crane steer the ship and just see what happened.

Crane set her down gently on the bed, running his hands carefully up her legs toward Abbie’s hemline. “You should be worshipped. You are delectable; absolutely perfect,” he said as he reached underneath the hem of her dress.

Abbie spread her legs, giving Crane full access, as she shivered in anticipation. Crane slowly slid her panties down her legs, watching her face as he did so. He thought she looked like an angel, truly the most beautiful creature he had ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Abbie bit her lip, watching Crane in anticipation.

Crane took a moment to study the beauty that was Abbie lying expectantly in his bed. “Crane? Are you going to keep me waiting all night?” Abbie breathed huskily.

“I am committing the beauty before me to my memory. I have an eidetic memory, so I do not want to squander this opportunity.”

“Well, if you don’t do anything soon, all you’re going to have is this memory.” Abbie challenged.

Crane arched an eyebrow in reply, and only wavered slightly as he moved toward her. He was still very much feeling the effects of the many drinks from the evening, but tried to focus through his drunk state.

Crane ran his hands up her legs, his lips following quickly behind. Abbie squirmed in response. Crane ran his hands under Abbie’s backside, getting a handful of glorious ass. “You, my treasure, have the most wonderful posterior.”

Crane threw Abbie’s legs up over his shoulders and bent, diving his tongue into Abbie’s slick folds, tasting and exploring. Abbie gasped in surprise, then began to moan as the pleasurable sensations took over, and Crane nearly lost his mind. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. 

“Crane…ugh…right there!” Abbie moaned, working her hips to get the rhythm she liked.

Crane replaced his tongue with his fingers, starting with a solitary digit, but quickly adding a second and a third when Abbie responded positively. He curled his fingers and hit just the right spot. Abbie arched her back and moaned deeply.

“Come for me, Abbie.” Crane demanded in a deep baritone.

His pupils were blown wide and his pants were tented with his obvious enthusiasm for their carnal activities, but Crane could focus on nothing but the lovely Lieutenant, on the edge of an orgasm. Crane used his thumb to massage her clit. Abbie threw her hands to the side, gripping the bed as she fell over the cliff. After a minute, Abbie relaxed as she came down from her high, looking through hooded eyes at Crane.

“Crane, that was so good. I like this fake engagement.” Abbie said, sighing.

“You looked absolutely lovely. I will treasure that memory forever.”

Abbie rose to her knees, flipping Crane down onto his back on his bed. She removed his pants and boxers, freeing his aching member. “Let’s make another memory.” She said, her voice laced with desire.

She took him immediately into her mouth, licking and sucking with her skilled tongue. Crane saw stars as she worked her magic. He couldn’t remember anything that had ever felt so good. He soon felt the pleasure building and knew he had to stop her before it was entirely too late.

He gently pushed her shoulders back, to which he earned a surprised “Hey!”

“Lieutenant, you are the most impressive romantic partner and I have enjoyed our time together tonight.”

Abbie sat back, suddenly sobering. “And?” She began warily.

“I fear that this has been a result of alcohol-induced decision-making. I do not want you to feel strangely around me after this.”

Abbie got off the bed then, grabbing her dress and covering herself. “What the hell, Crane? Nobody’s ever done this before the sex! Usually it’s after.”

Crane got up as well, still swaying slightly, as he grabbed for his boxer shorts, but making no attempt to actually put them on.

“I realize I kind of started this tonight, but you don’t go along with it this whole time and then just quit when things are getting good!” Abbie walked out, slamming the door behind her.

Crane sank onto the bed, tossing his boxers onto the bed beside him. He buried his face in his hands, moaning. What had he done?

*****

The next morning, Abbie had already made coffee by the time Crane got up and came out of the basement. Abbie said an icy good morning as she walked past.

Crane approached carefully. “I was hoping we might have a chance to speak about the events of the previous evening, Lieutenant.”

“There’s nothing to say, Crane. We’re good.” Abbie waved her hand dismissively.

Crane arched an eyebrow questioningly. “You are not angry with me?”

“No, of course not.” Abbie said quickly, in a voice a pitch too high to sound sincere.

“Alright,” Crane said slowly, still unsure. “In that case, I was thinking we could take the day and go for a walk in the park, stopping for a lunchtime picnic.”

Abbie only looked at him then. “Actually, I’m going shopping, Crane. I’ll see you later.”

With that, Abbie walked out the door, got in her car, and drove away for some needed retail therapy. Crane was left standing alone in the kitchen, confused.


End file.
